Long-time Y member Milton Waldoff of Hattiesburg has fond memories of his years attending the Y's Camp Dantzler each summer. / Bryant Hawkins/Hattiesburg American

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“This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” —

Hamlet, Act 1, scene 3, 78-82

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“This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”

—

Hamlet, Act 1, scene 3, 78-82

That Shakespearean line is familiar to any YMCA member who attended summer camp at Camp Dantzler on Black Creek in the 1930s and ’40s — in fact, it was the camp motto.

Milton Waldoff, a lifelong Hattiesburg resident, started summer camp with the Y in 1937 when he was only five years old. For the next 14 years, he remained active in the organization, and that motto — along with the many other values the Y instilled in him — has remained with him his entire life.

“That has helped me to learn to remain honest, and everything will take care of itself,” said Waldoff. “The YMCA taught me to do the right thing, to treat people right, and everything else will be OK.”

So far, it seems like it has been.

The son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, Waldoff found he fit right in at Camp Dantzler. Led by YMCA director J. Maury Gandy, the campers learned social and leadership skills, how to swim and the value of sportsmanship.

Waldoff credits Gandy with shaping the lives of many young men.

“Mr. Gandy expected — indeed, demanded — more of us than we expected of ourselves,” Waldoff said. “He had a strong positive influence on every boy.

“He was a blessing to thousands of boys, especially to me.”

To Waldoff, the camp was a vacation — and a learning experience — that he looked forward to every summer.

“You learned how to take care of yourself without your mom and your dad — most of us had never been away from home at six or seven or eight years old,” he said. “In the 1930s, people didn’t travel the way they did today, so this was a really big thing.”

Even though vacations were a lot cheaper back then — camp fees were $5 a week — not everyone could afford the fees for the entire duration of the camp.

But that didn’t matter much, said Frank Montague, a Hattiesburg attorney who attended camp with Waldoff. Everyone was welcome at camp, and if there’s a will, there’s a way.

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“Summer camp was either one or two weeks,” Montague said. “Those who could afford two weeks stayed two weeks. And those who couldn’t, Mr. Gandy donated (the fee) so they could stay.”

Montague said his experiences at the Y helped him become a better person later in life.

“It was an invaluable experience in terms of moral direction, teamwork, being your brother’s keeper,” he said. “In fact, when I was discharged from the Navy after World War II, the first thing I did was serve as assistant director at the camp because I wanted to go back for my own sake.”

And although the Y in its early years was primarily a Christian organization, Waldoff said his Jewish upbringing never raised any eyebrows at the club.

“It didn’t interfere at all,” he said. “When you’re young, and you’re kids, you’re not particularly interested in the religion of who you’re playing with.”

In his last two years at Camp Dantzler, Waldoff became a camp counselor. As counselor, Waldoff did his best to pass on to the younger campers the same values he learned as a child.

“Once you grow up at the camp, and now you’re leading some of the younger kids, then you’re put to the test of doing what’s right,” said Waldoff. “You try to emulate the leadership that you enjoyed from others.”

In 1954, Waldoff signed up with the U.S. Army and was assigned to Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. Waldoff said the lessons he learned at the Y served him well while serving in a mortar company at Schofield.

“What I learned (at the Y) helped me get along with people, follow rules and regulations and do what I’m supposed to do,” he said.

Longtime Hattiesburg residents probably recognize Waldoff’s name. The family owned several upscale clothing stores in Hattiesburg for several decades — most notably Waldoff’s Department Store, which was located in Cloverleaf Mall until 1994.

Waldoff is still in the retail business — he owns and operates the Waldoff Group, which does retail consulting for businesses around the U.S. His consultations have taken him to New York, Oregon and nearly every state in between, and Waldoff firmly believes that the Y’s values have been instrumental in his success.

“I think the Y contributed to my entire life, business and otherwise,” he said. “It contributed to how I treated people, what I expected of them, and what I thought was appropriate for me.”

And even though Waldoff isn’t as active with the Y as he used to be, he’s still a member. He tries to exercise there a few days a week, and with the organization celebrating its 100th anniversary, the Y is just as important to him as it ever was.

“They have continued to do a terrific job in helping youngsters and other people,” he said. “The people that work there are caring and concerned and have a great attitude — even the girls that check you in at the desk are smiling.

“It’s just a great place, and Hattiesburg is blessed to have a place like the Y.”